The company now employs 158 people in Louisiana, including 27 at its headquarters and 86 at its engineering center in Madisonville. It also has 45 employees in a Metairie engineering center, plus offices in Houston and Accra, Ghana.

The company will invest $5 million, hiring the workers for its engineering center at average salaries of $90,000.

Pelican Energy could claim more than $8.7 million in incentives from the state's Quality Jobs program over 10 years, based on 5 percent of an average salary. The state is also offering job training.